“Lin Haizhi, Lin Huirui, Lin Haiyang…”

In the courtyard, Yu Chengci’s voice was especially loud, even louder than Erbao’s.

The three kids ran out when they heard his voice.

“Yu Chengci, what are you doing?” Erbao asked.

Yu Chengci said, “Didn’t we talk about meat buns yesterday? I’m going to buy some, and I can take you with me. Do you want to go?” He was talking about going to a place where they could secretly buy meat buns.

After the Red Sleeve soldiers started keeping a low profile, as long as people weren’t openly doing business, no one really cared anymore.

No one was foolish.

The college entrance exams had been reinstated, and the people who were sent away were returning.

Everyone knew what this meant.

“No, thanks. My mom made breakfast today,” Erbao said loudly.

Because of the habits they formed in the military family compound, it was a proud moment for the three kids when their mom made breakfast, so Erbao was happy to show off.

“But we’re going to buy meat buns, and meat buns are the best!” In Yu Chengci’s opinion, nothing could beat meat buns for breakfast, not even the breakfast made by their nanny, Grandma Zhang.

He loved meat buns so much that he spent all his pocket money on them.

Yu Chengci was lucky.

His grandparents and parents all worked, and he was an only child.

When his mother, Li Yue, gave birth to him, she had a tough time and almost didn’t make it through.

Since their first child was a boy, they didn’t have any more children.

Li Yue came from a good family, equal to Yu He’s, and she had strong opinions. Plus, Yu He didn’t believe in having many children.

So, they only had one son, Yu Chengci.

This meant Yu Chengci had a lot of pocket money, more than other kids his age.

“But it’s not better than my mom’s porridge,” Erbao said.

Even though he liked meat, he hadn’t been deprived of it since he was five, so he wasn’t as obsessed with it as he used to be.

When he was little, he would even threaten his mom to get two extra pieces of meat—he was quite bold.

“Really? What’s so good about porridge? My nanny, Grandma Zhang, makes porridge too, but I don’t like it. None of us do,” Yu Chengci said.

“But last night you ate a lot of my mom’s fish porridge,” Erbao couldn’t believe it.

Was Yu Chengci lying with his eyes open?

Last night, Erbao saw him eat several bowls of porridge with his own eyes.

Even though it was winter and they were wearing sweaters and coats, Erbao could still see how full Yu Chengci’s stomach was.

He couldn’t help but say, “Your stomach was so big last night, it was even bigger than the bellies of the pregnant ladies in our family compound.”

Pfft…

Sanbao almost burst out laughing.

He quickly covered his mouth, afraid that laughing would embarrass Yu Chengci.

Yu Chengci’s eyes widened too.

How could Erbao say something like that?

His face turned red as he hurriedly explained, “That wasn’t just porridge, it was dinner! And your mom makes great dinners.”

Erbao pouted, “It was still porridge. My mom called it fish porridge. We eat it often, so why wouldn’t it be porridge?”

Yu Chengci didn’t argue any further.

He was like Erbao in that he didn’t dwell on things for long.

He only heard Erbao mention that they ate it often, so his eyes lit up as he asked, “Do you have fish porridge for breakfast too?”

“No,” Erbao said. “We had cabbage porridge and fried eggs for breakfast. We bought some bones today, so my mom said she’ll make bone porridge tomorrow. She also makes eight-treasure porridge, mung bean porridge, red bean porridge, corn porridge, and porridge with century egg and shredded pork… all kinds of porridge. Speaking of mung bean and red bean porridge, my mom also makes delicious mung bean and red bean popsicles… slurp…”

Yu Chengci was getting hungry just hearing about all these porridges. Enviously, he said, “Your mom is amazing, making so many delicious things. Well, if you’re not going to buy meat buns, I’ll go by myself. If you ever want to join me, just let me know.”

Erbao waved goodbye cheerfully, “You go ahead. See you!”

So, Yu Chengci went to buy meat buns by himself.

Yesterday, he had gone with Zhang Mingcheng, but Zhang didn’t have as much pocket money as him, so they had agreed to go together only once a week.

Normally, Yu Chengci would have been happy to go buy meat buns by himself, but after hearing what Erbao said, he felt that going alone wasn’t as fun.

Yu Chengci left, and the three kids, the “three brothers,” spent some time at the market buying vegetables, so they decided to skip their morning exercise and have breakfast instead.

They planned to exercise in the evening instead.

Ning Shu and her three children ate breakfast slowly.

After they finished eating, the construction worker recommended by Zhang Cuilan arrived.

Ning Shu went to the backyard to talk with him while the kids were left to clean up.

After Ning Shu and the worker discussed and signed the contract, she went outside to withdraw money and paid a third of the cost upfront.

The agreement was that Ning Shu would fully entrust the project to the worker, meaning he would handle everything as the contractor.

When Ning Shu returned with the money and some items she had ordered from an app, the three kids had already finished cleaning and washing the vegetables.

They had moved their small desk into the courtyard, where they were now sitting in the sun, reading books.

Joining them were Yu Chengci and Zhang Mingcheng, two other kids.

The small desk was something they used when they lived in the military family compound.

Now, since their bedroom had custom-made desks, this small desk wasn’t needed inside, but it was perfect for moving in and out of the house as a portable desk.

The five children were quietly reading their books.

Ning Shu also took out her work supplies and sat beside them to start working.

“Auntie, what are you doing?” Yu Chengci asked curiously.

Erbao replied on behalf of his mom, “My mom is designing clothes. Designing clothes means drawing pretty outfits and then giving those drawings to a clothing factory so they can make the clothes. Look at our clothes; these were all designed by my mom. She’s a fashion designer.”

“Really?” Yu Chengci had met people from many different professions, but this was his first time meeting a fashion designer.

Of course, even though he was only thirteen, he understood what a fashion designer did. “No wonder your clothes look so nice. I haven’t seen anything like them at the department store.”

Erbao proudly smiled.

Ning Shu shook her head slightly and said, “I’m finishing up the designs for the clothes that will be made after the New Year.”

But on this sunny winter day, working while listening to the kids chat was quite enjoyable.

Since the kids had an “important” competition in the afternoon, Ning Shu started preparing lunch a bit early.

For lunch, they had leftover cabbage porridge from breakfast.

To make things easier, Ning Shu had purposely made extra in the morning.

They also had pickled radish from yesterday, stir-fried celery with eggs, and a side of cold cucumber salad.

The four of them shared these three dishes, with generous portions, making for a refreshing meal.

When it was time for lunch, Yu Chengci and Zhang Mingcheng left before Ning Shu even had to say anything.

The kids knew that food was precious, so they didn’t like to stay at someone else’s house during meal times.

After lunch, Ning Shu started preparing snacks for the kids’ competition.

She cut one sugarcane into eight boxes, packed one box of washed grapes, sliced up a pear, and added some extra fried dough twists she had made the day before—just like she did yesterday.

“Do these look okay?” Ning Shu asked the three kids after preparing everything.

“They’re perfect, thanks, Mom,” Erbao said. Then he asked, “Mom, how much did all these things cost?”

It was hard to calculate exactly since some things might not be expensive in normal times, but during this period, rare items like grapes could be as costly as eggs.

Ning Shu thought for a moment and then said, “The eight boxes of sugarcane cost 5 cents each, and the other items were 5 cents per box as well. So in total, it was 2 yuan.” The grapes, pear, and fried dough twists each weighed about a pound per box, so pricing them at 5 cents per pound seemed reasonable.

Sanbao naturally had no objections to the price she mentioned.

They packed the food into their backpacks, prepared their fishing gear, and waited for Yu Chengci to call them.

After saying goodbye to Ning Shu, they left the house.

Yu Chengci’s group had the same number of people as yesterday—nine in total—as they walked toward the fishing river.

“I wonder how many people Zhang Jingwu will bring today…” Yu Chengci muttered, “If their number is smaller, we’ll stick to the same arrangement as yesterday. If there are more, we’ll add people as needed.”

The number of participants had already been discussed in Sanbao’s room the day before.

“Alright,” the kids agreed.

When they arrived at the riverbank, they saw Zhang Jingwu’s group already there, and there were noticeably more people than yesterday.

The extra people were unfamiliar faces to Sanbao.

“Zhang Jingwen is here too,” Zhang Mingcheng said with a frown.

“Zhang Jingwen?” Yibao asked. “Is he Zhang Jingwu’s older brother?” The name alone suggested that.

Zhang Mingcheng nodded. “Among the kids in our generation, Zhang Jingwen is quite impressive. He’s a top student and often held up by teachers and elders as a role model. He’s sixteen and currently in his third year of middle school. But we also have impressive ones among us, like Brother Ling Jiawen and Brother Chengyuan. Chengyuan is Chengci’s older brother. Ling Jiawen, like the Zhang family, lives in the old courtyard. You see, even their names, Zhang Jingwen and Ling Jiawen, sound similar.”

Yibao nodded. “Is Brother Ling Jiawen coming to the competition today?”

Zhang Mingcheng shook his head. “I haven’t seen him. He’s not here.”

Yibao smiled faintly, looking curious. “Can we send someone to call him? Since Zhang Jingwen came to watch, Brother Ling Jiawen would probably come too, right?”

Zhang Mingcheng was taken aback, but after thinking it over, he realized that with Zhang Jingwen around, they might be at a disadvantage.

However, if Brother Ling Jiawen was there, things would be different.

“Jiawen is at home, doing homework with my older brother,” Yu Chengci said, glancing at one of his friends. “Go to the old courtyard and call Jiawen and my brother over.”

“Okay,” the friend agreed without hesitation and ran off.

However, Zhang Jingwu’s group didn’t notice the friend leaving.

When they approached Zhang Jingwu’s group, Zhang Jingwen didn’t speak; he just leaned to the side, watching them.

Zhang Jingwu, however, spoke up: “You’re here. Let’s start the competition. Did you bring your food?”

Erbao took off his bag and opened it. “We did. What did you bring?”

There’s a saying that young calves aren’t afraid of tigers, and Erbao embodied that spirit.

He wasn’t afraid of anything at five, so why would he be afraid of other kids at twelve?

Zhang Jingwen, who Zhang Mingcheng had mentioned was impressive, didn’t intimidate him either.

Perhaps that’s the advantage of being a bit oblivious: when you don’t overthink, you have fewer worries. “What did you bring?” Erbao asked again.